April GDP and May GDP Estimate Released

Statistics Canada issued the GDP report for April today, showing no change from March. Note, however, that April saw the strike at CRA, and this pulled GDP down; without the strike, GDP would likely have increased again, by about 0.1%. Non-residential construction was up by 1.4% compared to March. Overall, 11 of 20 sectors were up. The forward estimate for May is for a 0.4% increase compared to April. Given this forecast and the generally heated state of the economy - consumer spending is holding up and unemployment, at 5.2%, is still fairly close to its all-time low - the likelihood of a Bank of Canada benchmark interest rate increase in July is stronger. The details on April GDP are available here.